THE EVIL IN OUR SOIL

The Creation of Slavery in Colonial America

by James Thornton Harris

About the Book

In August 2019 our nation will honor the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first black residents in America. Events are currently scheduled for Virginia and Washington D.C. This will be the first centenary celebration of its type. Sadly, the state and federal governments chose to ignore the anniversaries of 1819 and 1919. In the 21st century, we have a much different understanding of the past and the importance of African American history.

This site synthesizes in a format appropriate for high school students some of the latest historical research on the topic. The site is curated by a James Thornton Harris, a writer and historian. Some of the material has been excerpted from his book The Evil in Our Soul: The Creation of Slavery in Colonial America, to be published in 2019.

About the Author

James Thornton Harris worked as worked as a journalist, public relations executive and non-profit executive. He worked for five daily newspapers including The Sacramento Bee, The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, and the Santa Cruz Sentinel. He also contributed to other publications including The Los Angeles Times, Heirs, The Advocate, New West and The San Francisco Chronicle.

After leaving journalism, he entered corporate public relations working at Hill & Knowlton and later serving as Director of Public Relations for CIGNA HealthCare of California. He later founded a boutique public relations agency, Westside Public Relations, which represented healthcare hardware and software companies. More recently, he served on the boards of several Los Angeles-area nonprofit organizations. He is the father of two sons.